Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Business

Apple Pay to stop supporting Russian banks sanctioned for the conflict in Ukraine

Apple has taken down three apps created by the sanctioned Promsvyaz bank from its App Store. Google also removed the bank’s main app from its store.

Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov has written a letter to Tim Cook requesting that Apple block access to the App Store and stop all Russian sales of the devices.

According to Fedorov’s letter, he is asking Apple for help to stop supplying Apple products and services to Russian users as a result of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“I appeal to you and I am sure you will not only hear, but also do everything possible to protect Ukraine, Europe, and finally, the entire democratic world from bloody authoritarian aggression – to stop suppling Apple services and products to the Russian Federation, including blocking access to App Store!
We are sure that such actions will motivate youth and active population of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression.

A separate Russian App Store is available for users to download apps for iPads, iPhones, Macs, and other devices that Apple sells. Apple also has its own dedicated website for the purpose of selling iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other devices.

New sanctions, imposed by U.S. President Joe Biden, seek to prevent companies from exporting select products to Russia; at the moment, Apple appears to be unaffected since it is still selling products and services in Russia.

Yesterday afternoon, Apple CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ said that he was “deeply concerned” with the situation in Ukraine, and that Apple will be “supporting local humanitarian efforts.”

Several Russian banks, including the second-largest, VTB, as well as Sovcombank, Otkritie, Novikombank and Promsvyazbank, have been sanctioned by the U.S., the Bank of Russia confirmed on Friday.

According to the announcement, Apple Pay and Google Pay will not be available for users whose cards are issued by these banks. Contactless payments and contact cards will still be available.

In a separate announcement on Friday, the Bank of Russia noted that Sberbank is among the sanctioned banks. The sanctions specifically target Sberbank’s correspondent accounts.

On Wednesday, Apple reportedly removed three apps from its App Store created by the sanctioned Promsvyaz bank. Google reportedly pulled the bank’s main app from its store as well.

On the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, users reportedly withdrew 111.3 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) from Russian banks, the biggest outflow since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago. Bank officials have warned that banks could seize retail deposits if sanctions go too far.

Customers online continue to report a significant bank outflow, as ATMs are running dry and there are long lines to cash out cash on Friday.

Ukraine appears to be increasingly embracing crypto in response to Russia’s invasion based on its on-chain data. However, it can be difficult to get data about Russian crypto exposure owing to the lack of legal exchanges that track volumes.

Advertisement

You May Also Like

Cryptocurrency

In this week's Crypto Chronicle, we explore Meta's new AI search engine that aims to reduce reliance on Google and Microsoft, Banco Bisa's custody...

Business

To make it easier for companies to adopt decentralized technologies, Hitachi Solutions has introduced a new Web3 development assistance package. This program offers a...

Business

Due to difficulties in the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry, dYdX Trading has announced a major layoff of 35% of its employees. As the company...

Cryptocurrency

Following the recent halving of Bitcoin, miners are integrating artificial intelligence and putting cost-cutting measures into place to cope with the rising costs of...

polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 3.88 4.03%
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 69,561.64 3.78%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,425.57 1.52%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.334625 3.40%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.513723 2.55%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.093494 3.32%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 66.22 1.57%